Clam opener



A. H. GONYEA Oct. 19, 1954 CLAM OPENER Filed Jan. 28, 1954 INVENTOR. 4/. 61,4 M051? /7. Gan/YEA ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 19, 1954 UNITED STATE S PATENT OFFICE 2,691,794

CLAM OPENER Alexander H. Gonyea, Yonkers, N. Y.

Application January 28, 1954, Serial No. 406,728

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to clam openers, and it has for its object to provide a device that will facilitate and make it very easy to open clams, being at the same time infallible in operation.

Another object of my invention is to prevent accidents in opening clams in the old fashioned way, by holding a clam in one hand and a knife in the other.

In addition, my clam opener is sanitary and easy to operate, and may, besides restaurants and hotels, find a use in private homes.

With the above and other objects in view, this invention consists of the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, claimed and illustrated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this application, and in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all views, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a clam opener.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view, on an enlarged scale taken on the line 2-2 in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an elevational view, with parts broken off, showing the knife of the device in a turned position.

Figure 4 is a detail top plan view on an enlarged scale, with parts broken off, and with the knife shown in Figure 3 omitted.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, my device comprises a base ill to be attached to a service counter (not shown) and secured to the latter, as for example, by screw H. A hollow cylindrical tube 12 is fixedly secured to the base I0, or made integral with the latter. A rod l3, shown in dotted lines in Figure 1, is mounted in said hollow tube I2 and tightly secured to the bottom of the latter by means of a nut 14 threaded upon said rod.

A revolving arm l rests on a shoulder bearing on the neck portion of the tube I2, which passes through an opening 3| in said arm, as shown in Figure 2. Above the arm I5 and at the upper end of the tube 12 is fixedly secured a seat 16 adapted to receive a clam I! to be opened.

An adjustable member or support 25 is mounted on the tube [2 by means of a ring-formed member 32 and screw bolt 33, as shown in Figure 1.

A bolt [8 is mounted through a knob 35 and through an upper knee-bent portion 34 of the member 25. The bolt [8 has a head l9, as shown in Figure 2; said head, in turn, secures a housing 20 to the support, or bent portion 34. The housing has a sleeve 2|, also shown in Figure 2; said sleeve is adapted by means of a flange 42 to exert a correct downward pressure of the housing upon the clam ll, so as to hold the latter in a fixed position. The degree of pressure imparted through the sleeve 2 I, is regulated by inserting a pin 31 into one of a number of apertures in the side of said sleeve, as indicated at 38. The housing comprises a rubber suction cup 22 surrounded by a helical spring 23 to maintain the shape of the latter while a metal shell 24, in turn, surrounds the helical spring'and suction cup.

A knife holder 26 is mounted upon the revolving arm l5 and adapted to move back and forth upon the latter; said arm 15 having an upwardly curved portion 43 upon one side thereof against which the knife holder 26 rests. A knife 40 is supported by the holder 26 between flanges 29 and 29'. The knife holder is pivotally secured to a bolt 21 for turnable movement of the knife holder upon the arm l5.

The operation of my device is as follows:

The clam to be opened is placed on the seat l6, and in order to secure said clam in steady position a downward pressure, by hand, is applied to the knob 35, which, in turn, by the intermediate members of the construction, as set forth hereinbefore, imparts said pressure to the suction cup 22 after proper adjustment has been made of the latter relative to the sleeves 2! by means of the locking pin 31. With the clam thus in steady position the knife 40 is applied for opening said clam.

The invention claimed is:

1. A clam opener comprising a base, a cylindrical hollow tube secured to the latter, a rod disposed in the tube, an arm turnably arranged on said tube, and a clam seat on top of the tube and above said arm, a supporting member adjustably mounted on the tube, a bolt through the upper part of said member, a sleeve surrounding said bolt, a housing mounted on said sleeve, and a head at the lower end of said bolt, whereby to secure said housing to the supporting member, said housing and clam seat being adapted to receive a clam, and means arranged upon the arm and adapted to open a clam.

2. In a device, as claimed in claim 1, and wherein said housing comprises a rubber suction cup, a helical spring wound around the latter, and a metal shell surrounding said spring.

3. In a device as claimed in claim 1, and having means for regulating the pressure of the housing relative to the clam seat.

4. A clam opener comprising in combination, a base, a cylindrical hollow tube secured to the latter, a rod disposed in the tube, an arm turnably arranged on said tube, and a clam seat on top of the tube and above said arm, a supporting member adjustably mounted on the tube, a bolt through the upper part of said member, a sleeve 5 surrounding said bolt, a housing mounted on said sleeve, and a head at the lower end of said bolt, whereby to secure said housing to the supporting member, said housing and clam seat being adapted to receive a clam, a knife holder slidably mounted 10 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Zucchini Aug. 27, 1895 Jacobsen Aug. 27, 1907 

